Literacy Tutoring Theme Week

Ms. Martin and students get in to the spirit of Spring!

In March we had a Theme Week at R.L. Stevens Elementary and we incorporated Spring! Everyone  really got into the spirit. Ms. Martin is taught lyrics and showing off her dance moves with her second grade group. Not only did these little ones learn about the joys of memorizing stanzas, but they also built their singing voice and learned about the splendid sensation of Springtime silliness!

It was a week of hidden literacy, masked by fun activities and cool games, with the kids practicing their reading skills without noticing it was work. It was just a lot of fun!

Cool Sports Challenge – Always a Success!

RL Stevens students had a BALL at the Cool Sports Basketball Challenge in March. Coaches Mr. Rockey and Ms. Kladar couldn’t stop smiling the entire time! They were so proud of their team who had worked so hard during practice. RL students cheered on not only their team, but the other schools as well, leading to RL receiving the Sportsmanship Trophy for the day.

The students had an amazing time and are truly looking forward to the next event!

RL Stevens team gets ready to play!

Canstruction: Reading Around the Camp Fire

This past weekend, several of CalSERVES AmeriCorps members gathered at Coddingtown Mall to participate in this year’s Canstruction event.

 Canstruction is a design and build competition where participants create structures made out of canned food. The mission of Canstruction is to bring awareness about and canned foods to, the men, women, and children in our community who need food assistance.

Wanting to stay true to the CalSERVES vision and mission, our team built a structure that displayed four children sitting around a camp fire reading books.

 
In total, over 700 cans (480 of which were donated by Whole Foods Market) were used to build our structure.

 The structures will be on display at Cooddingtown Mall until April 27. All the canned food used in building the structures will be donated to the Redwood Empire Food Bank.

By: Jacquelene Bennett, AmeriCorps Literacy Content Leader

Science is Cool!

My students were hiding their noses behind any piece of cloth available and making dramatic fanning motions when I realized I probably should have refrigerated the cabbage juice. It must be STEM theme week at R.L Stevens!

Ms. Gold and her tutoring students

 Let me back up. I was demonstrating how red cabbage juice changes color according to whether the chemical it’s put in is an acid or a base. The table outside was set with various substances, and the students had learned where to place them on the pH scale according to the color they turned when we added the cabbage juice. A typical vinegar and baking soda reaction was suddenly a lot more interesting, though by day three, the cabbage juice had gone decidedly off. In spite of this, the students really got into the active experimentation part of the lesson, and unleashed their inner scientists.

The last lesson of the week involved Diet Coke and Mentos, (with a strong nutrition-related disclaimer) but before we got to the explosive fun, first we had to figure out why the reaction happened in the first place. My fourth grade group had used a K’nex set and rubber bands to learn about ways that potential energy can be stored (and released – quickly!), and my third graders had had endless fun learning about the phenomenon of lift and making and testing different types of paper airplanes. Each time I gave my kids a challenge or scientific problem to solve, they responded with boundless enthusiasm, ingenuity, and solutions that I hadn’t thought of.

 My students love STEM theme weeks. I can practically guarantee that every time I pick up my first group of third graders from class, I get the question “Are we doing science today?” During our first STEM theme week, they’d played a dry version of Marco Polo in order to learn about echolocation, and expanded that knowledge to learn about other special adaptations of plants and animals. I’ve discovered the trick to making Science, Technology, Engineering and Math irresistible subjects to students: make the scientific challenges so fun to solve that they don’t even realize they’re excelling at a subject so many people find complex. This play-to-learn approach is perfect for the After School environment, and by the time theme weeks are done, students who before had little to no confidence in their math and science skills are whooping, cheering, and saying that “Science is cool!”

by Sarah Gold, CalSERVES AmeriCorps Member at RL Stevens

2013 Cesar Chavez Heatlh Fair a Success!

AmeriCorps members get in the spirit of health!

On Saturday, April 6, AmeriCorps members gathered early in the morning to prepare for the 13th Annual Cesar Chavez Health Fair. 70 AmeriCorps members serving with the CalSERVES programs were there to help families access help and resources for dental health and nutrition, and to help families have a good time.

Partnering with organizations in the community like First 5 Sonoma County, St. Joseph's Health Care System of Sonoma County, Kaiser Permanente, and many others, CalSERVES created a family event where kids could receive free dental exams, families could sample healthy recipes and learn about resources in the community, and kids could play and have a fun time with physical activities.

Over 500 people in the community came down to celebrate with us. And those amazing AmeriCorps members made a big project run smoothly. When AmeriCorps members come together, there isn't anything they can't get done!

Volunteer dentists provided free exams for kids.

2013 Cesar Chavez Health Fair

Join us at the Cesar Chavez Health Fair!
Saturday, April 6, 2013 10am - 2pm
Cook Middle School, 2480 Sebastopol Rd. in Santa Rosa 

It's Springtime, and at CalSERVES that means we're gearing up for the annual Cesar Chavez Health Fair. We've been hosting the Health Fair every year since 2000, and there is a lot of time and energy poured into this event by our dedicated staff and AmeriCorps members!

In 2000, California declared March 31st as Cesar Chavez Day, and AmeriCorps programs throughout the state were invited to create a day of service around this new holiday. Chavez was known for his championing of those that are under-served, and so the folks at CalSERVES decided one of the best ways to honor him would be to bring health services to those who needed it the most.

This year, our event is focused on Dental Health and Nutrition. Tooth decay is the #1 childhood disease, 4 times more common than asthma. And many children don't have insurance and access to dental care. With a partnership with St. Joseph's Health Care System of Sonoma County, our fair will provide screenings and treatments for children ages 0-18, including follow up care where needed.

In addition to vising the dentist, families at our fair can learn how nutrition plays a role in healthy teeth and healthy bodies, accessing information from organizations throughout the county.

All services are offered free of charge, and the event includes free samples of healthy snacks and drinks, fun and games for children, and much more!

Join us at the Fair!
Saturday, April 6, 2013 10am - 2pm
Cook Middle School, 2480 Sebastopol Rd. in Santa Rosa

For more information, please visit the CalSERVES website: www.calserves.org

A big THANK YOU to the sponsors of the Cesar Chavez Health Fair!
First 5 Sonoma County
St. Joseph's Health Care System of Sonoma County
Network for a Healthy California

by Emily Mann, Health Fair Coordinator

Destination: After School

Shannon Irish and Katie Gill, CalSERVES AmeriCorps Content Leaders,
with their prizes from the After School Conference

“Twenty years from now, the kids you currently serve won’t remember much of what you said to them, but they’ll all recall how you made them feel.” These were just some of the opening remarks and inspirational lessons given to the attendees of the March 2nd, Region 1 After School Conference in Fortuna, CA by keynote speaker Charlie Appelstein.

 The conference was composed of several workshops ranging from Healthy Behaviors to Engineering Robotics. The keynote speaker, Charlie Appelstein, gave a very powerful talk on Strength-Based Behavior Management. He also held a workshop, which further elaborated on his keynote address and book “No Such Thing As a Bad Kid!”

Charlie’s speech provided attendees with endless ways to positively enrich student’s lives. At one point he stated: “A positive attitude sends the message: I want to be here. I care about you. I believe in you. And I know you will succeed. Which all leads to hope, happiness, and success! Hope is humanity’s fuel.” His stories and strategies were filled with tears, laughter, and knowledge. If you’re staying in the field of education, we highly suggest going to his website to learn more about his techniques and theories: www.charliea.com.

Some other interesting workshops that were given at the conference included: Rescuing Recess Game, 4-H Robotics, Photo Voice, Learning Activities to Felicitate Hard Middle School Topics, Feel the Force with Charlie Alperstein, Creating Art on the Cheap, and Fun Games on the Fly. Additionally, our very own Kristen Mowers had the privilege to lead a workshop about Nutrition Education.

At the end of the conference, our program was put into a drawing to win educational prizes. We were lucky and won one of the raffle prizes that consisted of 6 board games, books, science activities, and gym equipment.

 Between meeting new people, enjoying the booming town of Fortuna, and learning lots of useful information, we all greatly enjoyed the conference.

by Katie Gill, CalSERVES AmeriCorps Content Leader